A Moment's Peace
by PinkFan-Gurl
Summary: On his way to the bathroom, Nagisa spots a very cute Gou reading amidst the sunrise. fluff


When Nagisa's eyes fluttered open, it took him a few seconds to figure out why Haru was sleeping next to him.

Memories of the day before came flooding back to him; training in the ocean, sleeping on the beach—yeah, sleeping on the beach was definitely a prominent memory considering how bad his back and neck felt waking up.

Nagisa smiled, snuggling his face into his blanket a bit further. He kind of wondered what time it was but it must have been relatively early since the tent was still chilled and there was only a small glow from the sun. Haru was still out cold and he tended to be an early bird.

Absent mindedly, Nagisa wondered what was for breakfast when he stretched his leg and then he was hit with the revelation that he had to pee. Really badly.

Panic swelled up in his stomach a smidge. Where was he supposed to go? In the ocean?

On normal occasions, he would definitely pee in the ocean but considering the water would be freezing cold as well as the morning air being frigid, Nagisa wasn't really wanting to catch hypothermia. He vaguely remembered there being an outhouse at the top of the hill near the inn, but that still sounded like a long, cold walk.

For a brief moment he thought about just holding it until the others woke up, but seven minutes of staring at and willing Haru to wake up didn't help. Instead he had to pee worse than before.

Nagisa kicked back his blankets, immediately regretting it. He fumbled around the tent for a sweatshirt and shoes, but finally opted to go barefoot when all he could find was one of Haru's flip-flops. Once he had pulled on his sweatshirt, Nagisa staggered out of the tent.

The sand felt cool on his feet and once again he wished he was cuddled up in his blanket. To his relief, he could make out the green outhouse even from this distance. By this point, Nagisa was kicking up sand as he ran across the beach towards the small structure.

As he came closer to the hill, he could see a person sitting on the wood railing that acted as a fence to keep people from falling down the hill. Nagisa took the steps two at a time, barely paying attention to the person until he was nearing the stop when a soft voice asked, "Nagisa?"

Nagisa slowed his roll, but didn't stop jogging. He was mildly surprised to see that Gou was the one sitting crisscross on the railing. "Gou?"

She smiled. "What are yo—"

"—can't talk!" he exclaimed, increasing his speed again. "You look cute this morning, Gou!"

Behind him he heard her muffled "Nagisa?" but he kept running until he reached the outhouse and slammed the door behind him.

…

She was still reading her book when he was walking back to the beach.

Skirting around the fence quietly, Nagisa hopped up on the railing beside her. It wobbled beneath his weight some, making Gou smile to herself. "You're up early," he commented to her.

Now that he wasn't in a mad rush to empty his bladder, he had a second to actually _look_ at her. Her red hair was down with a slight wave to it and she sported a large hoody and penguin pajama pants. He grinned at that.

Gou closed her book and set it in her lap. "I couldn't sleep anymore." Her voice dropped slightly as she said, "Miss A. snores."

Nagisa laughed as he flipped his hood up and pulled his arms into his hoody. "For some reason that doesn't surprise me."

"What are you doing up so early then?" She asked, arching her back in a stretch.

Nagisa cocked his head to the side with a bashful grin. "I had to pee really bad and couldn't hold it."

Gou regarded his barefeet. "Please don't tell me you went in there without shoes on!"

He shrugged. "I could only find one of Haru's flip-flops and I couldn't hold it any longer."

"Why didn't you go in the bushes?"

"What if someone saw me?"

"No one is awake."

"You're awake," he reminded her.

Gou toyed with her book. "I would have turned away."

Nagisa chuckled, noting the flushed color of her face. "I like your pajama pants by the way."

Gou's cheeks flushed a deeper pink. "They were the first ones I grabbed."

"Pink and penguins look cute on you." Nagisa pushed arms back into the sleeves.

Gou blinked, turning toward the ocean where the sun was finally starting to peak over the horizon, filling the sky with orange and red. "So, I was thinking that for your guys' training regimen we should—"

"Gou?" he interrupted her. Gou snapped her mouth shut and turned toward him curiously. Nagisa slipped off of the railing so that he was leaning his stomach against the wood. "What's your favorite part about the sunrise?"

Gou's curiosity deflated and she slouched over as she sat. "Seriously, Nagisa?"

Nagisa shrugged with a small grin. "Yeah. Come on, Gou. Humor me."

Gou sighed, leaning back slightly with her arms wrapped around her legs. "I guess...my favorite part about a sunrise is the quiet. I can think or read or clear my mind." She glanced toward her friend, slightly surprised by how close he was to her now. "I feel," her voice caught in her throat, "at peace."

Nagisa giggled, throwing his arms around her stomach and buried his face into her back. He wasn't sure if she was blushing, but her voice gasped, "W-what are you doing?"

"My favorite part of a sunrise," he ignored her, snuggling his face into her hoody, "is that you like the quiet. Whatever your favorite part is, that's my favorite part too, because it's the reason I got to see you so early this morning."

"Nagisa…" Gou's voice was soft, making Nagisa nervous, but then she wrapped her arms around his and hugged them tight.

And that's how they stood, watching the sunrise. Only when they saw Makoto climbing out of one of the tents on the beach did they break apart. "You're really warm," Gou commented as he helped her down from the railing.

Nagisa giggled, running his fingers through his hair with one hand while he laced his fingers with Gou with his other one. "And you smell nice."

Gou slapped a hand over her mouth and she chuckled. "Nagisa, I smell like chlorine! Just like everyone else on the team!"

Nagisa gave her hand a squeeze. "What can I say? I like the smell of chlorine."

Gou rolled her eyes until they eventually settled on the other three swim team members who were all gathered on the beach. "I think they're looking for you."

"Yeah," he muttered, "guess I better get back down there."

Gou poked him on the nose. "I'll save a spot for you and Rei at breakfast?"

Nagisa kissed her on the cheek, catching her off guard. "Sounds awesome!"

He turned tail and raced down the hill, perfectly aware of the blush that had spread across Gou's face. He supposed that was another thing that she had in common with the sunrise;

A dusty pink blush that makes you breathless.

4/8/17


End file.
